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What’s on your packing and to-do list before a trip with your dog? Traveling with your dog can be an incredibly fun and memorable experience, if you’re well-prepared. But forgetting an important necessity or failing to take one of these steps ahead of time could turn that relaxing vacation into a travel nightmare! Check out these super-useful tips from our friends at PetParents shared for every well-prepared dog owner needs when traveling with their pooch.

Pilots N Paws is a pet rescue support organization that works with private pilots who volunteer their time and planes to fly animals in need to their fur-ever homes! Russ Landau is a pet owner and pilot from Los Angeles, CA, and Kate Quinn is the Executive Director of Pilots N Paws. Purina’s Petcentric caught up with both of them to find out more about how these volunteers make a life-changing difference for rescue animals. Click here to learn all about Pilots N Paws and how and why they to help fly animals from overcrowded shelters to new homes and families in other states.

Spring is here and we’re loving the great weather and flowers blooming all around us! But, some of those gorgeous plants are actually toxic to pets. Did you know that these Spring plants are toxic to pets? SHARE to keep other pet lovers in the know!!! You can like and share this and more great cartoons and images on our Adopt-a-Pet.com Facebook page here (cartoon from our fabulous friends Redandhowling)

Dog Chow is excited to introduce the Puppyhood program – your one stop shop to help raise your puppy right from the first bite.  With a wide range of educational content as well as interactive tools, Puppyhood is the go-to destination to help guide you and your pup through puppyhood.

 

TIPS AND TRICKS

Whether you’re looking for information about teething or potty training, finding the perfect vet or teaching your pup some basic commands, Puppyhood provides tips and tricks in the form of articles and videos.  With special sections dedicated to “Nutrition”, “Grooming”, “Exercise”, “Health”, “Behavior”, “Training”, and “Puppy Planning”, the Puppyhood has tips and tricks for everything your puppy goes through in the first few years.

 

EXCLUSIVE ACCESS

Joining the Puppyhood not only grants access to some great special offers, but you’ll also be able to take advantage of our exclusive online tools that will help your puppy grow up happy and healthy.  You’ll be able to sign up for video hangouts with our panel of experts, use our “Near You” tool to find puppy destinations around your location, and track every stage of your puppy’s development using our Milestone Tracker.

 

INTERACTIVE DOG WALKS

Part of the Puppyhood program is a great feature called The Dog Walk.  The Dog Walk helps people learn more about puppies through a 360°, interactive puppy world that offers up articles and videos about puppy topics along the way.  It makes learning about your new puppy fun and engaging as your explore!

 

PUPPY PLANNER

One of the truly unique aspects of the Puppyhood program is that it caters to those still considering pet adoption – which we of course love here at Adopt-a-Pet.com!  The Puppy Planning section has everything you need to know before getting a furry friend to ensure you’re ready for your new responsibility.  The breed selector even helps you pick just the right puppy to fit your lifestyle.

Join the Puppyhood today and get customized learning, helpful tools, and exclusive benefits and coupons on your puppy’s journey to doghood.

Our friends over at Petcentric.com have some great ideas of ways you can help animals in need over the holidays! The holiday season can be a wonderful time when we all come together with family and friends, and focus on fellowship and service to others including  abandoned animals in our communities. Many people take vacation around the holidays leaving animal shelters and rescue facilities understaffed. This is a wonderful time to volunteer your labor and skills to help animals in need. While you might not have the time the rest of the year, you can ask your local shelter if they need help with feeding, exercising or cleaning kennels — especially on the holiday days. If you have a large vehicle like an SUV or van, you might even be able to assist in the transport of animals. If the shelter is closed to the public or requires you be a trained volunteer to help on-site, you can offer to launder bedding, make fundraising calls, or organize adoption events at local businesses.

Photos & Videos. Animal shelters are often in need of a lot of professional services that they cannot afford to pay for. If you have experience photographing animals or making family videos, you can offer your one-time (or more!) service to photograph their animals for listing on adoption websites and promotional materials. Off-site adoption events are a great place to do this, as the shelter will have arranged for staff and volunteers to handle the pets, and you can focus on photographing and videoing them.

You can register on Adopt-a-Pet.com as a volunteer to be contacted by your local rescue, or search Volunteer Opportunities posted by your local shelters and rescues here:
www.adoptapet.com/get-involved

Donate Items or Cash.  Shelters and non-profit rescues are always in need of donations, both of money and essential items. Cash is always welcome and helpful! You can see if your local shelters and rescue have included a link to their donation page or Paypal by searching for them on Adopt-a-Pet.com here: www.adoptapet.com/animal-shelters –click on the shelter name, then look on the right for their “Donate to our Shelter” or “Donate to our Rescue Group” link, or their website link.

Donations of both new and used items are also often appreciated. Ask your shelter if they have a wish list. Shelters often can use donated food and treats, used kennels or crates that you no longer need, newspapers, old blankets, sheets, towels, and washable dog beds.

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Campaign garners donations of much-needed flea and tick treatment to animal shelters nationwide

July 18, 2011

Release Link: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/7/prweb8647245.htm

An innovative national campaign designed to educate the public about the dangers of fleas and ticks while helping animal shelters protect the dogs in their care against the troublesome parasites launches today. In addition to its national online presence, the “Pooch Protest” campaign is featured on billboards which will begin in Charlotte, North Carolina, and then roll out to Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The “Pooch Protest” against fleas & ticks, a partnership between Bayer Animal Health and national pet-adoption charity Adopt-a-Pet.com, invites the public to visit http://www.PoochProtest.com, where they can register their dogs as members of the virtual protest. For every dog registered*, Bayer Animal Health, the makers of flea and tick preventive K9 Advantix® II, will donate a tube of the product to Adopt-a-Pet.com, who will, in turn, distribute the tubes to its member shelters and rescue groups across North America.

“Protecting pets in shelters from nasty parasites and pests is important for so many reasons,” says Adopt-a-Pet.com executive director Abbie Moore, “not the least of which is that a healthy pet, treated for fleas and ticks and other pests, is much more attractive to potential adopters. Treating with a flea and tick preventive can truly help to keep a shelter pet more comfortable and adoptable.”

David Meyer, president and co-founder of Adopt-a-Pet.com, stresses the importance of coming together as a community to help homeless pets. “There are many ways you can help animals,” says Meyer, “but this is perhaps one of the easiest ways of all. It just takes a computer and a few minutes to join, so that you can make a difference in countless lives.”

K9 Advantix® II is for use on dogs only. For more information, see http://www.PoochProtest.com.

When your puppy wants to play, he probably won’t try to play it cool. Instead, he’ll make a strong play for your attention by bowing or pawing the air.

The play-bow is the most common way that a dog invites a person or another pup to play. With his ears alert and tail wagging, a dog will stick his rear in the air while lowering his front end and stretching out his front paws. The gesture shows submissiveness, and communicates to other dogs that any nipping or chasing that come next are intended in the spirit of fun. During the play bow, a dog’s face will be relaxed and his lips loose – his teeth will not be bared in aggression. Sometimes a playful pup will also bark, as if to say in doggie-speak, “hey, come join me in a game!”

Sometimes we feel the internet was made for cat videos… after watching all the amazing videos that were The Friskies award finalists was definitely one of those moments!  On November 14 in Los Angeles, an eager world received news of just which cats would receive the first-ever major industry award for Internet cat videos, “The Friskies.” And a blind cat named Oskar led the way… running away with their $15,000 Grand Prize! Watch all “The Friskies”-winning videos here. Of course we especially love that because of all your likes, votes, comments, and shares during “The Friskies” 2012 Internet cat video contest, Friskies® donated 250,000 cans of cat food to 25 cat rescue organizations across the United States. Friskies® says THANK YOU for helping us make a difference in the lives of rescue cats across America!

For more information about The Friskies donation program, visit: http://www.thefriskies.com/giving/

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Helping your new canine friend adapt to his  new home will be easier if you plan ahead. If you have all a dog’s basic needs in place you can focus on introducing him to his new surroundings and begin his training. [See all our other puppy and dog articles in our Doggie Tips section!]

Do your shopping in advance. If your choice is a puppy, you’ll need a collar and leash, a crate (a great aid in housebreaking), brush or hand mitt for grooming, toys that will be safe for the puppy, a bed for the puppy, as well as non-tippable, easy-to-clean food and water bowls. For more information, see our Puppy Necessities article.

If the puppy will be spending time outdoors when they are older, choose a well-insulated doghouse large enough to accommodate the puppy at its full-grown size. It should be located on a high, well-drained site protected from the wind. Choose a location that provides outdoor shade during the summer.

You’ll want the proper diet on hand to meet the special nutritional needs of your rapidly growing newcomer. Purina® brand Puppy Foods are formulated to provide the extra protein, calcium, phosphorus and other nutrients puppies require. Please remember: puppies have unique nutritional needs and benefit from a food formulated for those needs.

Select a veterinarian for your new puppy as soon as possible. Ask dog-owning friends and neighbors for recommendations. Choosing a veterinarian who is located nearby is a convenience and saves time if an emergency should occur.

Make arrangements with the person from whom you are getting the puppy as to the time you will pick him up. Avoid bringing home a new pet during busy times such as birthdays and holidays. Family members are generally too busy with the festivities to devote adequate time to help a puppy become comfortable in his new home. Ask that the puppy not be fed prior to pick-up time. This helps avoid the puppy’s becoming car sick on his way to its new home.

Once in his new home, remember that your puppy needs to adjust to strange new surroundings and people. Children can become especially excited. Explain to them that their new companion needs time out for naps. Show children how to pet the newcomer and the proper way to pick him up.

A puppy should be closely supervised and taken outside to relieve itself after eating, following naps and play periods.

As soon as possible after you adopt your puppy, take him to your veterinarian. At this time, a schedule can be worked out for needed vaccinations to protect your newcomer from a number of viral and infectious diseases. He should also be examined and treated, if necessary, for external and internal parasites.

Bring any immunization information you may have received when you adopted your puppy to your veterinarian to begin a case history for future reference. It’s a good idea to keep your own medical record. You may need it for reference if your pet’s veterinarian is not available.

Choose a name for your newcomer and use only that name in calling the puppy. In teaching a puppy its name, as in all training matters, 100 percent cooperation of all family members is essential. When a puppy is sent mixed signals, he can become confused and not respond to any of the contradictory signals.

Remember these key words and you’ll enjoy your new friends for years to come: Gentleness. Care. Patience. Consistency. Praise. Love.

 

Do you and your pets love Halloween? Show us your furry friend’s best Halloween photo. It can be your dog howling at the moon, your Orange Tabby playing with the pumpkin, or even your pup having fun in his favorite costume! Use your imagination and you could win an Adopt-a-Pet.com swag bag and a chance to be featured!

All you have to do is follow these three steps:

1. Follow @adoptapetcom on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook

2. Upload a Halloween inspired photo of your pet to your preferred social media account (make sure your account is set to public during the contest period for your entry to count). Make sure you are not using makeup or dyes on your pet or using a costume that can harm them in any way!

3. Caption the photo with hashtag #SpookyPets and tag @adoptapetcom in the pic

We want to see all of your pet’s spooky sides so feel free to enter often and with multiple pets! The contest will run October 4, 2017 through November, 4, 2017.

Submissions received will be judged based on creativity, originality, if your pet seems like they are having fun, photo quality, and adherence to the contest rules.

Please be sure to follow the photo guidelines when posting:

1. Pets in photos should be in a safe and relaxed environment, and you should not place makeup or dye on your pets. Please do not post photos in situations that could be harmful or stressful to your pets. If they are not having fun, don’t do it!
2. Photos must be visible to the public.
3. Entries must adhere to the Instagram, Facebook, and/or Twitter guidelines.
4. All photos must be original for entry to count.

One chosen winner will receive an Adopt-a-Pet.com goodie bag and will be featured on our blog and social media channels. Multiple stand out entries will be featured on social media throughout the contest period.

OFFICIAL RULES Continue reading “Trick or Treat! Awesome Contest Alert”